gun control – The Lowdownhttps://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown
KQED Public Media for Northern CAFri, 09 Dec 2016 01:33:35 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2Loaded: A Brief History of Gun Control in America [Interactive Timeline]https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2016/06/24/americas-loaded-history-with-guns/
Fri, 24 Jun 2016 19:00:58 +0000http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/?p=5867Continue reading Loaded: A Brief History of Gun Control in America [Interactive Timeline]→]]>Included as a fundamental right in the U.S. Constitution, firearms have long played a pivotal role in America’s history and culture. Federal gun regulations, though, were largely nonexistent until well into the 20th Century, and today remain exceptionally lenient compared to gun laws in most other wealthy nations.

But it wasn’t until relatively recently — the last 1970s — that gun control emerged as one of the most explosive and divisive issues in American politics.

And while debate is often reignited in the wake of horrific mass shootings, recent efforts to tighten gun access laws have been uniformly unsuccessful.

Case in point: on June 12, a lone gunman, wielding a a semi-automatic rifle and handgun, killed 49 people and wounded scores of others at a gay night club in Orlando. It stands as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history (committed by a single person). Eight days later, Senate Democrats tried to push through a set of legislation to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales, and prevent anyone on the U.S. terror watch list from purchasing guns. The measures were quickly killed by the Republican-controlled Senate, suffering a similar fate as 2013 legislation that had been proposed in the months after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 young children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Scroll through this timeline to learn more about the prickly history of federal firearms regulation in America.

]]>MAP: Which States Have The Highest Rate of Gun Deaths?https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2016/01/07/map-which-states-have-the-highest-gun-death-rates/
https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2016/01/07/map-which-states-have-the-highest-gun-death-rates/#commentsFri, 08 Jan 2016 00:17:06 +0000http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/?p=20630Continue reading MAP: Which States Have The Highest Rate of Gun Deaths?→]]>Mouseover the map below to see each state’s 2014 gun-related death rate.

Data is based on the latest available figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s analysis of 2014 death certificates. All reported gun-related deaths are counted, including homicides, accidents and suicides (the latter of which up about two-thirds of gun deaths nationwide). There were 33,599 reported gun deaths in 2014, according to CDC data. That’s a rate of 10.54 per 100,000 people.

Gun ownership rates, measured per 100,000 population, are derived from the results of a 2013 survey published in the health journal Injury Prevention, of 4,000 adults from 50 states.

Gun control rankings are based on the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a group that advocates for stronger gun control laws. It assigns grades to each state based on policies like background checks, concealed carry permits, bulk firearms purchasing and gun carry restrictions in schools and other public spaces. We could not find a similar National Rifle Association scorecard, but it should be generally assumed that the NRA’s marks are about the opposite of those shown here. By showing these grades, we are not agreeing nor disagreeing with them. See article and discussion questions below the map.

Discussion Questions for Educators (using the map)

Which states have the highest and lowest gun death rates?

What are possible factors that might contribute to these high and low rates?

The national gun death rate average is 10.54. Find three states that fall above and below this average.

Are there states that fall below the average national gun death rate (10.54) but also receive a low gun control grade (below C)? What might account for that?

What’s the gun death rate and number of total gun deaths in your state? Is that higher or lower than you expected? How does it compare to rates in neighboring states?

Identify two states with very different gun control grades (ie. an A- and an F). Go online to look up and compare both of these states’ gun control laws. What are the biggest differences?

We encourage students to share some of their responses in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

In response to the fierce national debate on gun control reignited by last month’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, President Obama on Tuesday announced a series of executive actions to tighten federal gun laws.

He justified the move, which bypasses Congress, by emphasizing the urgency of the issue and Congress’ repeated failure to act on it.

“The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they can’t hold America hostage,” Obama said in an emotional address at the White House.

“This is not a plot to take away everybody’s guns. You pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. The problem is, some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no background check, no questions asked.“

The new executive actions require background checks for all gun purchases, including at gun shows, stores and on the Internet. The actions also devote additional funding to increasing mental health care access, while mandating that federal mental health records be submitted to the background check system. And they call for expanded research and development of gun safety technology like fingerprint trigger locks and apps for tracking stolen guns.

Obama added that while Americans are not inherently more prone to violence than people in other nations, “we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency … Somehow we’ve become numb to it and we start thinking that this is normal. And instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates.”

Republican presidential candidates were quick to attack the measure as blatant government overreach and abuse of executive power as well as a direct assault on Second Amendment rights.

Gun control laws vary dramatically by state. Aside from the relatively loose federal restrictions that apply everywhere, each state can determine much of its own gun purchasing, possession and carry rules. In states like New York and California, where these laws are relatively strict, purchasing and carrying a firearm is notably more restricted than in states with comparatively lax laws, like Alaska and New Mexico. But how those rules impact the rate of gun-related deaths in those states remains hotly contested.

Every year, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, an advocacy group pushing for tougher gun control regulations, reviews each state’s gun laws and assigns grades based on the strength of its policies to regulate the sale and use of firearms and ammunition.

The Center points to a 2010 statistic showing that seven out of 10 states with the strictest regulations also the lowest gun homicide rates.

But gun rights advocates opposed to tighter regulations argue that this kind of comparison is misleading. A common rebuttal is that stricter regulations don’t do anything to prevent criminals from getting a hold of guns – they simply prevent law abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves. Gun rights advocates also commonly point to states like Maine, which has some of the loosest regulations in the country (it received an F grade by gun control groups) but also has a relatively low gun death rate). They also argue that strict gun laws in cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. have failed to prevent high gun homicide rates.

“The gun laws in Chicago only restrict the law-abiding citizens and they’ve essentially made the citizens prey,” Richard A. Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association told the NY Times in 2013.

]]>https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2016/01/07/map-which-states-have-the-highest-gun-death-rates/feed/5A Guide for Teaching about Gun Violence and Gun Control [Lesson Plan]https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2015/10/03/gun-control-an-educator-produced-lesson-plan/
Sat, 03 Oct 2015 23:00:11 +0000http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/?p=7832Continue reading A Guide for Teaching about Gun Violence and Gun Control [Lesson Plan]→]]>On the morning of Thursday, Oct. 1, a heavily armed gunman walked into a community college classroom in Roseburg, OR, slaughtering nine people before taking his own life. It marks yet another mass shooting in a nation where gun deaths occur with alarming frequency.

The following guide suggests balanced ways for teachers to explore and navigate the highly-charged political and emotional issues behind the topic of gun control and gun violence.

Produced in 2013 in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, this project is a collaboration with the National Writing Project, and was written by two English language arts high school teachers – Kirsten Spall of Natomas Charter High School (Sacramento) and Chris Sloan of Judge Memorial Catholic School (Salt Lake City).

Based on content featured on The Lowdown, the guide provides ideas for integrating these heated issues into English language arts and social studies curriculum. It includes Common Core Standards Alignment, a synopsis of key background information, integration tips, and lists of issue pros and cons, creative writing prompts and best classroom practices.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, an advocacy group pushing for tougher regulations, assigned every state a grade based on 29 different policy approaches to regulating firearms and ammunition. California topped the list with an A-. New York, which now requires background checks for ammunition sales, has since surpassed it in the toughness of its gun laws. It’s the first state to enact such legislation following the Newtown shooting. And efforts in a handful of other states — including California and Colorado — to strengthen gun laws are already underway.

The Center points to 2010 statistics showing that seven out of 10 states with the strictest regulations also had that lowest gun homicide rates.

Click on image to explore interactively. Source: Guardian

But gun rights advocates opposed to tighter regulations argue that this correlation is inconclusive and misleading. They commonly counter that stricter regulations don’t do anything to prevent criminals from getting ahold of guns – they simply prevent law abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves. Many also point to states like Maine, which has some of the loosest regulations in the country (it received an F grade by gun control groups, but also has among the lowest gun homicide rates in the country). On the contrary, they argue, the strict gun laws in cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. have failed to prevent those rising homicide rates in those places.

“The gun laws in Chicago only restrict the law-abiding citizens and they’ve essentially made the citizens prey,” Richard A. Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association told the NY Times.

California vs. South Dakota: the toughest and loosest gun laws

Despite its relatively low rate of gun homicides, South Dakota got smacked with an F grade by the Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which identified it as the state with the nation’s weakest gun laws. Here’s how the two states compare:.

California: toughest gun laws

Requires all gun sales (private or otherwise) to be processed through a licensed dealer, requiring a background check

Requires gun dealers to obtain a state license (rather than just a federal one)

Bans most assault weapons and 50 caliber rifles, and prohibits the sale or transfer of large capacity ammunition magazines

Requires handgun purchasers to obtain a license, after passing a written test

Regulates its gun shows

Limits handgun purchases to one per person per month

Imposes a ten-day waiting period prior to the sale or transfer of a firearm

Maintains permanent records of firearm sales

Gives local law enforcement discretion to deny a license to carry a concealed weapon

Gives local governments authority to regulate firearms and ammunition (although the state legislature has expressly removed this authority in certain areas).

South Dakota: loosest gun laws

Does not require a background checks for private sales

Repealed its 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases

Does not require gun dealers to obtain a state license

Does not regulate the transfer or possession of assault weapons, 50 caliber rifles, or large capacity ammunition magazines

Does not require gun owners to obtain a license, register their firearms, or report lost or stolen firearms

Does not require the reporting of mentally ill individuals to the federal database used for firearm purchaser background checks

Does not limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time

Does not regulate unsafe handguns

Does not allow local governments to regulate firearms

Does not have local law enforcement discretion to deny a concealed handgun permit

99 ways states have loosened gun laws

Mother Jones magazine tracked 99 state laws passed since 2009 that have made guns easier to own and carry in public, and harder for the government to track. According to the report, these laws were pushed through by the National Rifle Association and allies in state capitols. More than two-thirds of them were passed by Republican-controlled legislatures, though often with bipartisan support.

Mother Jones highlighted some of the more striking laws it came across:

Bullets and booze: In Missouri, law-abiding citizens can carry a gun while intoxicated and even fire it if “acting in self-defense.”

Short arm of the law: In Utah, a person under felony indictment can buy a gun, and a person charged with a violent crime may be able to retain a concealed weapon permit. Nebraskans who’ve pled guilty to a violent crime can get a permit to carry a gun.

]]>https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2013/02/22/are-states-with-tough-gun-laws-actually-safer/feed/6MJ MapThe Geography of U.S. Gun Homicideshttps://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2012/12/19/the-geography-of-u-s-gun-homicides/
Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:07:28 +0000http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/?p=5265Continue reading The Geography of U.S. Gun Homicides→]]>Explore the map below for detailed figures on each state’s firearms-related homicide rates for 2010 and 2011. For every state except Alabama and Florida (which post their own records), data are taken from FBI records. The darker the shade of blue, the greater the number of gun homicides in a state for every 100,000 residents living there.

In 2011, the highest gun homicide rate (per 100,000 residents) in the nation was, ironically, in the city where the nation’s gun control laws are decided: Washington, D.C. The rate there was 12.4 (actually down from 2010). A close second was Louisiana, with a rate of 10, followed by Mississippi, with 7.4. California, the most populous state, has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country as well as the greatest number of overall homicides (1,790) and the most gun-related murders (1,220). In 2011, the state had a gun homicide rate of 3.25 (per 100,000 residents).

]]>The United States of Firearms: America’s Love of the Gunhttps://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2012/12/14/the-united-states-of-firearms-americas-love-of-the-gun/
https://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/2012/12/14/the-united-states-of-firearms-americas-love-of-the-gun/#commentsSat, 15 Dec 2012 03:34:41 +0000http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/?p=5205Continue reading The United States of Firearms: America’s Love of the Gun→]]>Regardless of where you stand on gun control, the fact remains that America is one gun-toting country. There are 89 guns for every 100 civilians, according to the 2011 Small Arms Survey. That amounts to roughly 270 million guns owned nationwide, far and away the highest gun ownership rate in the world. With less than 5 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. is home to anywhere between 35 and 50 percent of all civilian-owned guns on earth.
Created by Simon Rogers at the Guardian (click to explore interactively)

And while America certainly does not have the highest firearms-related homicide rate in the world (it ranks 28th), our rate is more than four times that of any other industrialized country (including all of Europe, Japan, Australia, Turkey and India): in 2011, there were well over 9,000 gun-related homicides (nearly 70 percent of all homicides committed), or roughly three per 100,000 population, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. That’s about 20 times the average rate of all other developed nations, according to the Washington Post.

Max Fisher_The Washington Post (source: UNODC; using 2010 data)

In contrast, Great Britain has a gun ownership rate of about 6 guns for every 100 civilians. Last year it had 41 gun-related homicides, or .07 per 100,000 population. Meanwhile, Finland, where there are 45 guns per 100 civilians, had only 24 gun homicides in 2011, a rate of .45 per 100,000 population.

Simon Rogers_The Guardian

The infographic below, produced by Good Magazine and Column Five, further illustrates America’s deep and exceptional love affair with the gun.

Editor’s Note: The U.S. rate of gun ownership was previously stated incorrectly: there are 89 guns for every 100 civilians (NOT: 89 out of 100 civilians own a gun).

When asked, during the second presidential debate, about their respective positions on assault weapons, both candidates gave only vague responses. Neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney offered any indication that they would would push for stronger gun control laws.

In case you haven’t been paying attention for the last, say, 40 years, gun control has long been a thorny issue in American politics, partly because of the ongoing heated debate over how the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted, and partly because of the National Rifle Association, a powerful lobbying group that has successfully dissuaded ranks of political leaders from pushing for more restrictive firearms legislation.

Nevertheless, it’s still surprising how little attention the issue’s received in this year’s presidential race, given the number of mass shootings this year, including one of the deadliest in U.S. history that happened just four months ago at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, in which 12 people were killed and 70 injured. As with most mass shootings in the U.S., the guns used in the massacre had all been purchased legally.

And even though violent crime rates nationwide have fallen in recent years, the number of firearm deaths in the U.S. remains alarmingly high. Between 2006 and 2010, nearly 48,000 people were killed by gunshot wounds (including suicides). The firearms industry, meanwhile, is booming. According to a recent report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in 2010 there were close to 130,000 federally licensed firearms dealers in the U.S. In that year alone, nearly 5.5 million firearms were manufactured here, and roughly 3.3 million were imported.

The Guardian

That’s just about 9 million new firearms floating around the country!

Visit procon.org to read arguments for and against stricter gun laws, particularly regarding concealed handguns. And explore an interactive gun crime map of America, produced by The Guardian, a British-based publication (click on the image on the right).